EDITORIAL - Getting serious about Haiti

Prime Minister Bruce Golding has had more than a few domestic distractions this year, not least the scramble to save his political career and maintain the credibility of his Government.

It can be appreciated, therefore, why he would find little time to give serious attention to regional matters, including his portfolio mandates within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

But now that matters have settled a bit domestically, perhaps Mr Golding will engage these issues, not least among them the job he promised to undertake to coordinate CARICOM's effort to support the recovery of Haiti after January's devastating earthquake that destroyed much of the country and killed more than 200,000 people.

Neither Haitians nor this newspaper could expect Jamaica to do much more than it has in providing economic resources or physical support to Haiti. Our Government has, on this front, been generous.

Mr Golding, however, has been less than forceful in holding the international community to account for failing to deliver the promised financial support for Haiti's recovery.

The prime minister, we believe, must now change tack, starting by putting public pressure on Bill Clinton, the former US president, who is the United Nations' special envoy on Haiti, to bring greater urgency to the job.

Eleven months after the earthquake, Haiti remains in shambles. A million people still live in rudimentary shelters and the rubble is yet to be cleared from the streets. There is hardly a functioning administration and government services barely limp along. Sanitation is non-existent. It is not surprising in these circumstances that more than 1,000 persons have died from cholera and many thousands more suffer from the disease.

It is important that Mr Clinton not only ensures that the international community gives the $10 billion it pledged to Haiti's redevelopment over the next decade or so, but provide the immediate support for recovery. There must also be acceleration in the support systems that are necessary to drive recovery.

Confidence going

The sad fact is that little has happened and the Haitian people are losing, or beginning to lose, confidence which, if it worsens, could further weaken democracy in the country and exacerbate problems of security. If this happens, the country, despite the elections of this week, will be unable to cobble together a government of legitimacy, which it so badly needs.

It is important, in the meantime, that René Préval's limping, outgoing administration be helped to advance quickly procurement rules so that basic things, such as cleaning up the place, can be revved up. There has to be transparent arrangements to spend what money is currently available for the recovery programme, so that the resources are used in accordance with need and intent.

In that regard, Mr Clinton must do more to leverage his personal prestige at the international level and to lend authority to the commission working on the ground. He should be nudged by our prime minister, whose voice, on this matter, has to raise more than a decibel or two.

Maybe, Mr Golding may find it useful, too, to lean a bit more heavily on the experience of Mr P.J. Patterson, the former Jamaican prime minister, who is CARICOM's special envoy on Haiti.

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